


The Quiet

by afanesyevo



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, M/M, The Talk, happy ending ?? maybeee, klance, klangst, voltron season 7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-06 00:30:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15874848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afanesyevo/pseuds/afanesyevo
Summary: Everything unspoken covered what we dared to call the truth. Unaddressed and unnoticed, we let both the truth and the lies slip from our hands. Leaving only the ashes and the sands behind. Now, look at us, what even are we?___________________________





	The Quiet

The Earth adored the quietness, to be just what it is. Solely waiting and calmly watching as everything compromises on it. Along with the silence, continuity and continuum were the only things, it can gift to the humanity so that it can still live and watch. Just so recently, some tried to take those three gifts away. Duration of that was not considered long for Earth but it was so raucous. Such few of them tried to save it. They took away the silence just to protect it.

Now one of them was wrapped in that peace, all the Galaxy Garrison under his feet and the whole sky above his eyes. On its own, Earth could scarcely give him this much. The sky was a saporous combination of pink and orange. They were really emitting the buildings artificiality. They were also affecting the young man sitting on the edge of the window, adding a soft color on the body bruised by the mild breeze. Well, at least it was how Lance, who is watching him from the behind, saw him.  He was preserving his distance obstinately. Between staying or leaving, he turned back to the door with a broken lock, a few more times. _Too little, too late._ There was another gathering in a few hours and everything that will come after was still unknown. Lance may not find Keith alone once again.

“Hey, man.” He called, walking towards the Black Paladin. One window was fully open, he wondered how Keith opened it like that and he rested his back lightly against the closed one, not taking any chances.

“Hey, Lance.” Keith returned, thrusting his shoulders back slightly. His eyes gazed at him for a second, then back to the sky and stayed there pensively.

“You don’t seem surprised.”

“I’m surprised you found me here.”

Lance knew this classroom. Years ago, they would use this room to learn about the constellations. Lance remembered all the cool technological stuff in here. Now it was all empty except the dust, some old desks, and boards. Garrison must have cut down al the expenditure if they locked most of the classes like this. As it seems Keith put a lot of effort to get in. He looked at the broken lock. _Strange choice…_

“In your favorite hiding spot? Yeah, some white bird with a robot wing told me.”

“Shiro… Hah, of course.” Keith rested his chin on his hand, secretly smiling. “Wanna sit?”

Sluggishly, Lance bent and slouched his feet down. For the first time, he felt the warm breeze on his face. They sat like that without unneeded talk. Lance was looking down at his feet, at how high they were sitting. The room was in Garrison’s highest floor. Just cause it was one of the most difficult rooms to find and a small one, not many students like this classroom. For Lance, well, he could gladly get used to this. It was like the whole Garrison was under his palms like he could just walk on it if he stood up. Keith nudged his shoulder. When Lance turned to him, his face was facing him but his eyes were back at the sky. After a bit, Keith dropped his eyes and pointed over his head. Lance lifted his head and held his breathe. The sky itself was prettier than any light it was reflecting. The pink was nearly fading, giving its place to purple with the upcoming night. As he watched, every place they went, every magnificent scene they saw, appeared in his mind. Among all those things he never realized he missed the sunset this much.

“I can’t believe we won this time.” He spoke so slowly like he was praying to the night.

“Me neither. It’s like a miracle.” Keith whispered his last sentence. Lance unwillingly agreed even they survived by their own miracles.

“Hah, yeah. Sooo… Voltron’s wings, huh?” Lance said side-eyeing him. Keith instantly smiled at that. He properly settled in his spot, his feet pointing inwards.

“That…” He started with a clear awe in his voice. “That was amazing. I still can’t believe  _we_ could do something like that.”

“And that feeling…” Lance leaned forward as Keith tilted his head back, they stared at each other. “It’s like being United. Like, I know, Voltron is _us_ being United but the wings…”

“It was something else.” Keith agreed. “Like connecting, being left and right wing.”

 _That… That was what I felt too,_  Lance thought. He snorted. _I can do it better though._

“Like two pieces of a puzzle or better, like sea and sand or… Or fire and oxygen.”

“Okay, okay Lance.” Keith stopped him, raising both of his hands. “I get it. We are both bad with words.”

They laughed at themselves. It was actually a nice filler to silence. It was nice laughing with each other.

“So… What are you doing up here?” Lance asked after he controlled his chuckles.

Keith shrugged. “I like being alone.”

“Or…” Lance leaned in, extended the _o_. “You needed to think.”

The black haired boy glanced away, then looked back at him. “Kinda… I mean, yes…” He fiddled with his hands and took a few deep breaths. “Actually, uh… Lance, I need to tell you something.” His shoulders were slumped and his hands were gripping the tips of his black shirt now. He was looking down or just everywhere except Lance. “But look, I’m just trying to be honest and leave it behind. Nothing else. Nothing. Not to mess this up or complicate anything.”

Lance smiled, clearly enjoying the way Keith struggled with his own words. Like he was actually trying to convince himself. He did finish the last part with enough confidence though, Lance could give him that. “You are making this complicated yourself, buddy.”

Keith faced him outright, google-eyed, lips slightly parted. Lance couldn’t classify if it was the orange light reflecting or just Keith blushing. Then he just shook his head and buried it in his hands, hoarsely sneering at himself.

“I’ll tell you when it’s not complicated.”

“Then, I’ll be waiting,” Lance reassured. The way Keith talked, actually made him wonder why he came here in the first place. _Yeah, I want to talk but about what?_ He realized he already knew the answer.

“So, how is your family?” Keith asked unintentionally interrupting. Lance pulled himself together without revealing he was about to say something. The happy expression he has whenever he thinks of his family settled on his face by itself.

“They’re good. Better in holding up than I thought. They are recovering… And who knows,” He stretched his arms, hiding his burning cheeks. “Maybe I’ll introduce Allura to them.” His girlfriend.

_My princess…_

“Oh… right.”

Lance beamed at him, though he didn’t saw. He just couldn’t believe Allura was finally reciprocating his feelings, it was still like a dream even after two weeks. He sighed happily. The sky’s colors would create wonders reflecting on Allura’s blue-pinks.

“They would love her,” Keith confirmed confidently by his posture but there was something else in his eyes Lance could pinpoint after everything they had been together but still can’t describe.

“Hah!” Keith grinned wobbly before Lance continued his rambling.

“She is wonderful, Keith. And she is finally here…” Lance grasped his heart. “Here to stay.” He finished softly, losing his gaze between the traveling clouds. There was a firm silence after that. Keith’s arms were crossed, he hesitated to open his mouth a few times but kept them tightly closed. He avoided any kind of eye contact with Lance, tried to get lost in the sky like Lance did. It didn’t work. When they caught each other’s eyes, Keith flinched away. Lance tried not to read much into Keith’s sudden changes. This was Keith after all. Lance stopped trying a long time ago. It was a good thing that silence was not considered a bad thing between them. So when it was broken in a sudden by one of them, it was considered natural too. The one was mostly Lance. It was always Lance but at least it was something.

“So what now?” He asked, not needing a special classification. The tone of his voice, the way he cautiously asked was everything that should be there.

“We won, haven’t we?”

“Yeah, but the Altean and her robot… It’s… Allura’s really stressing herself over it.” He leaned back and look up. Not at the sky but the ceiling, voice gravelly.

“Hey, don’t worry. We can get over it. We did it so many times before.” There was hope, proudness in the way Keith reassured him, it almost hurt to watch.

“But for how long?” Lance snapped. His pitch went up with his last word. It wasn’t meant to be like this, they won. So why again? If this was the end of every hero, why would they be a hero? How could them? He hated it, he hated that he knew the fucking answer. He hated knowing why he was here, that he was desperate. He didn’t want to look at Keith. He didn’t want to see his face. Eyes full of shock but still managing to keep a firm expression.

He didn’t want to hear what he would say, then he realized the boy hasn’t said anything for minutes. Keith pulled his legs towards his chest as he stopped slouching them, his chin resting on his knees. He was sitting with an unevenness to his left side which revealed he was watching Lance just a few moments earlier. And he didn’t know the words about to fall from his lips was the worst nightmare of the person next to him.

“You want to stay on Earth, don’t you?” His voice was irrelevantly flat and his words came out so slow and prepared that Lance felt he froze from head to foot.

“You know I didn’t mea-“

“You are thinking of leaving, too?”

Lance regressed, eyes open wide, cheeks hot with the rage he was trying to bottle up. The disappointment and incurability in Keith’s voice was nothing less than a newly sharpened knife, Lance could feel the bleeding wound.

“Really?” He snapped. “You are pulling that card every time! Even… Even when it’s actually YOU who left us in the first place.”

_Nothing will ever change._

Why don’t I just forget? _Why can't I?_

Leave it unspoken? _Why can’t I?_

“You ran away. In the first chance, you got!” Lance shouted tautly, his face tightened as his fist pounded against the ground. He realized Keith breaking, falling. He realized just how he hides all of that. He realized every one of them and- fuck! His palms were sweating so fucking much! He hated this, hated him so fucking much. His hands were shaking and- _please make it stop…_

“WHY?” He cried out. He hated being like this.

“I had my reasons.” Keith snapped back finally at least showing a fucking emotion. Then, there was a laughter, edgy and curt, letting out the outrage with one simple, short yet still inadequate sound. _Never enough…_

“Of course, cause no one ever questions the perfect Keith Kogane. He knows the best, he knows everything. And can come back like it’s nothing with the perfect solution to EVERYTHING!”

“Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.” Keith’s hands went between his hair, slumping down with every stop. _Would be easier, wouldn’t it?_ “You. It was you. Always you.” _Face it._ Keith lowered his arms covetously, took a half-step towards Lance. “You were most of my reasons.”

“Really?” Lance responded bitterly. “Am I now? So you really cared that much, huh Ke-“

“Of course, I did!”

“Well, you are not very good at showing it.”

It seemed like an endless breeze. The constant movement and constant collisions. An endless fight till the oblivion. Humans lose in the end, at the end of every human tales, they lose.

“Does. It. Matter?”  Why would they be an expectation?*

“IT DOES!” Lance stood up. “Everything! Everything was fine.” He was moving frantically, walking in circles, mimicking his words with sloppy hands. But the painful yet resigned features, they made it real. “Everything was going well. But… you… You did this Keith!”He slowed down. “You did this.” He pointed at himself. Quieter with the mind filling memories. Losing the smallest thing he had. He didn’t realize this time. How Keith reacted or how he pulled himself together. Did he even? Lance was tired.

“I did what I had to do.” Keith straightened too, standing on both of his feet. His messy hair hiding most of the visual of his eyes. For the better, Lance stopped searching in them anyway.

“Of course you did. And you never looked back.” He was out of breathing, out of hope. “I thought… I…” Staring down at his empty palms, a stopped posture like a frozen lake.

“You thought what?” Keith walked forward, lowering his voice. He reached out, Lance stepped back.

“Never mind.” Lance parried, Keith’s hand stayed still on the gap between them. “Just don’t waste your time bothering, really! It’s completely my fault to come to you to talk.” The gap remained long and empty. Keith’s hand fell down like his eyes lowered to his feet.

“I… I’m so-”

“Don’t. Just don’t. I don’t need your pity.” Lance exclaimed, cutting him off.

“I’m not-”

“And you shouldn’t. Since it would be my fault again. Counting on my team leader.

Neither their feelings nor words were stable. Imponderable like the ocean, irrepressible like the fire. They only needed an exhortation from the air. And the wind blew with the hauling waves blazed the fire kept hidden.

“Why? Why do you count on me?” Keith yelled, his face broke into so many emotions just because he can’t control them. “Just… Why can’t you understand?” Despair, exhaustion, fear, rage, love. “Is this really why you are here? Because that’s just it. That’s just what I am to you!” _Pain._

That gap stayed between them only growing wider. Lance stepped forward this time, he ignored his pounding heart, breathless movements, aching body but it wasn’t enough to catch Keith walking away. The room was small, the gap was small but it felt more distant, heavier. Keith stepped back towards the door.

They considered the silence something to rely on when they were together. To find some peace. But this… This wasn’t what they relied on. This couldn’t be their memory. So Keith spoke low and hurt and guilty.

“I’m just an issued team leader you had to accept.”

Then he walked through the door. Lance behind his back knowing very well he can’t make it up every time. With Lance watching every step of his, drowning the pain in his mind.

Leaving so he wouldn’t disturb the silence. Leaving so he couldn’t hurt or be hurt. So that they can both leave it unspoken once again and for all.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this :) I would love to write more of this if anyone would be interested.  
> And please I mean no harm or hate on Allurance.


End file.
